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Skelmersdale is a town in
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, England, on the
River Tawd The River Tawd flows through Skelmersdale and Lathom in West Lancashire. Tawd Bridge carried Ormskirk Road, the main arterial road from Wigan to Ormskirk and Southport. This is well known to Upholland locals as the place where highwayman Geor ...
, west of
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
, northeast of
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and southwest of Preston. In 2006, it had a population of 38,813. The town is known locally as Skem . While the first record of the town is in the ''
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
'' of 1086, much of the town, including the current town centre, was developed as a second wave
new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
in the 1960s. The town's initial development as a coal town coincided with the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
in the 19th century; the town lies on the
Lancashire Coalfield The Lancashire Coalfield in North West England was an important British coalfield. Its coal seams were formed from the vegetation of tropical swampy forests in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago. The Romans may have been the fir ...
.


Geography

Skelmersdale is situated in a small valley on the
River Tawd The River Tawd flows through Skelmersdale and Lathom in West Lancashire. Tawd Bridge carried Ormskirk Road, the main arterial road from Wigan to Ormskirk and Southport. This is well known to Upholland locals as the place where highwayman Geor ...
. The town was designed to accommodate both nature and compact housing estates, and the town centre contains a large amount of forestation. The Beacon Country Park lies to the east of Skelmersdale, where the Beacon Point lies, along with a golf club. Furthermore, the Tawd Valley Park runs through the centre of the town, where improvement efforts from the council are currently ongoing. The town borders the village of
Up Holland Up Holland (or Upholland) is a village close to Skelmersdale and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the West Lancashire district, in the county of Lancashire, England, 4 miles west of Wigan. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2 ...
to the east, West Lancashire's administrative centre
Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England, north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston. Ormskirk is known for its gingerbread. Geography and administr ...
to the north-west, and St Helens to the south. Furthermore, the town lies on the periphery of
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
and
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
. The M58 runs to the south of Skelmersdale, from Wigan to Liverpool. The New Town is the larger eastern part of the town which was built primarily in the 1960s as a second wave
new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
, and the 'Old Town' is the much smaller and older part of the town in the south west; Skelmersdale was mentioned in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
of 1086. The town is further divided into seven wards: Skelmersdale North, Skelmersdale South, Birch Green, Ashurst, Digmoor, Moorside and Tanhouse.


History


Toponymy

Skelmersdale means "Skjaldmarr's valley", from the
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
personal name ''Skjaldmarr'' + probably Old Norse ''dalr'' (or
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
''dæl'') "dale, valley". The name was recorded as ''Skalmeresedel'' in 1136. It is locally known as "Skem", with a further distinction being made between "Old Skem" (the area which was a small mining town prior to 1961) and the broader swathe of development on the east side of the town.


Early history

Until the creation of Skelmersdale Urban District Council at the end of the 19th century, the town was part of the Parish of Ormskirk in the
West Derby hundred The West Derby Hundred (also known as West Derbyshire) is one of the six subdivisions of the historic county of Lancashire, in northern England. Its name alludes to its judicial centre being the township of West Derby (the suffix ''-shire'' mea ...
, an ancient subdivision of Lancashire, covering the southwest of the county. In the mid-14th century, the manor of Skelmersdale was held by
William Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre William Dacre, 2nd Baron Dacre (''ca.'' 1319–1361) was an English peer. In the final months of his life, he was also 3rd Baron Multon of Gilsland. In some sources, he is called William de Dacre. Life Dacre was the son of Ralph Dacre, 1st Baro ...
.


Modern history

In 1858, Blague Gate railway station in Skelmersdale was opened on the new Ormskirk to Rainford line. It was renamed to Skelmersdale railway station in 1874, before closing in 1956 and its demolition shortly after 1968. Skelmersdale's population in 1851 was only 760, but 50 years later it had increased to 5,699. It was a busy coal mining town. Sadly, there were over 100 fatalities in Skelmersdale collieries from 1851 to 1900, according to the Reports of the Inspectors of Coal Mines, and an unknown number of serious injuries. In 1880 there were 14 Skelmersdale collieries—most of them closed in the 1920s and '30s. The miners, many of whom were
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
immigrants, brought with them their own brand of
Nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...
Christianity. By the start of the 20th century there were at least six dissenting chapels in the town: two Wesleyan (Berry Street, closed in the 1920s, and Liverpool Road, closed 1969), an independent Methodist, a
Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primiti ...
, a
Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
and a Welsh Chapel (closed in 1963). Today, there is little to remind people that the town was part of the once great
Lancashire Coalfield The Lancashire Coalfield in North West England was an important British coalfield. Its coal seams were formed from the vegetation of tropical swampy forests in the Carboniferous period over 300 million years ago. The Romans may have been the fir ...
, although a Skelmersdale Heritage Society was re-established in 2019. There were also numerous
brickworks A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a quarry for cl ...
in the area, and in the early-20th century ''
Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History or the VCH, is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of En ...
'', Skelmersdale was described as "a particularly bare, unpleasing district" owing to its coal mines and
brickworks A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a quarry for cl ...
.


New town

In 1961 Skelmersdale was designated a
new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
, designed to house overspill population from the north
Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
conurbation. The town was the first in the second wave of designations. Skelmersdale endured mixed economic fortunes during the last three decades of the 20th century. With the economic downturn in the late 1970s, large industrial employers left the town en masse, resulting in an increase in crime, drug abuse and poverty. Today, West Lancashire has a crime rate below the national average. 2006 saw a regeneration drive for the town coordinated through
English Partnerships English Partnerships (EP) was the national regeneration agency for England, performing a similar role on a national level to that fulfilled by regional development agencies on a regional level. On 1 December 2008 its powers passed to a successor ...
and the Northwest Regional Development Agency and publicly headed by the designer
Wayne Hemingway Wayne Andrew Hemingway (born 19 January 1961) is an English designer and co-founder of Red or Dead. He is also on the Design Council Trustee Board and having been with the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) for a d ...
. Among the proposals was a new central focus for the entertainment and commerce for the town in the evening. In 2012, a £20m vision to create a regenerated town centre for Skelmersdale was revealed. It is expected to create as many as 500 permanent jobs, and current projections seem to satisfy that target. Although Skelmersdale faces a looming employment crisis, the regeneration of the town centre is a step towards recovery, and up to 100 extra jobs would be generated during the scheme's construction phase alone. Proposals included a new food store as well as a number of bars, shops and restaurants, and a five-screen cinema. A new promenade would be fronted by these establishments to overlook the Tawd Valley Park, and a new civic square would also be created between the Concourse Shopping Centre and the town library. Regeneration specialists St Modwen have been working on the proposals with West Lancashire Council and the Homes and Communities Agency. In January 2020, work began on a new
Lidl Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, whi ...
supermarket and a B&M store, and work began on a new two-screen cinema operated by US company Star Cinemas in May 2020, which opened in May 2021 under the name Ultra Star Cinema (However it was re-branded to “Capitol Cinema” during June 2021. In June 2020,
Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 La ...
acquired the site of the former Glenburn Sports College, and approved £2 million of funding to demolish the site and prepare the location for development as a railway station. There are also plans to move forward with a new high street linking the Concourse Shopping Centre with West Lancashire College's campus.


Transport


Road

Skelmersdale has been designed to work on a roundabout system and there is only one set of traffic lights in the town. For ease of access, there is a subway network allowing pedestrians to move through the town without needing to cross potentially hazardous roads. However, the subway system was called into question in 2020 by
West Lancashire West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town in the borough is Skelmersdale. At the 2011 Census, the population of the borough was 110,685 ...
MP
Rosie Cooper Rosemary Elizabeth Cooper (born 5 September 1950) is a British health official and former Labour Party politician who has served as the chair of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust since November 2022. Previously, she served as the Member of Parli ...
and others with regard to its safety and sustainability, as they are not regularly maintained by the county council. The M58 motorway runs along the south of Skelmersdale from the nearby
M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at t ...
to the Switch Island interchange at Liverpool. The A570 and the A577 both provide connections. The New Town areas of Skelmersdale have a road-naming system where residential streets rarely feature words such as "Road" and "Street" and single-name roads are common, e.g. Abbeywood, Fairburn, Brierfield, Thornwood. "Road", "Street", "Lane" and "Drive" ''do'' appear in road names, but only in the parts of the town that pre-date the New Town development. The road names in New Town areas are also arranged in a loosely alphabetical format with large areas being defined by a single letter, for example, Larkhill, Leeswood, Ledburn and Lindens all connect to Ashley Road in the Ashurst area. Roads in the industrial estates and the main roads in the town such as Gillibrands Road follow the usual naming conventions, although the industrial estates do feature street names beginning with the same letter. For example, Pikelaw Place, Penketh Place, Pinfold Place and Priorswood Place are all part of the Pimbo Industrial Estate.


Bus

In September 2011, the company providing most of Skelmersdale's bus services, , closed its depot in Skelmersdale, which employed 129 people. The depot was first constructed for
Ribble Motor Services Ribble Motor Services was a large regional bus operator in the North West England based in Preston. History Ribble Motor Services commenced operating in 1919, and grew to be the largest operator in the region, with a territory stretching f ...
in the 1970s, and the premises were sold. Skelmersdale is now served by buses from Arriva depots in St Helens, Bootle and Southport.


Rail

Since the closure of
Skelmersdale railway station Skelmersdale railway station was a station located on the Skelmersdale branch at Skelmersdale, England. The station was originally named Blague Gate, having its name changed to Skelmersdale on 8 August 1874 and carried passengers from 1858 to ...
in 1956, the town has become the second most populous town in the
North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
, after
Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...
, without a railway station. The nearest railway station is
Upholland railway station Upholland railway station serves the small town of Up Holland in the southern Lancashire/Wigan boundary area of England. It is on the Kirkby branch line from and means the service (which is provided by Northern Trains, who also manage the stati ...
on the
Wigan Wallgate Wigan Wallgate railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town centre of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. The station serves two routes, the Manchester-Southport Line and the Manchester- Kirkby Line. It is 16 miles north-w ...
to
Kirkby Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 was 41,495 making it the largest ...
branch line (historically part of the
Liverpool and Bury Railway The Liverpool and Bury Railway was formed in 1845 and opened on 28 November 1848. The line ran from Liverpool Exchange first using a joint line with Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway before branching off to proceed via Kirkby then Wigan a ...
line). The
Skelmersdale Branch The Skelmersdale branch was a standard gauge railway (SKE) which connected the Liverpool, Ormskirk and Preston Railway at Ormskirk with Rainford Junction via Skelmersdale. At Rainford it connected with the Liverpool and Bury Railway and the St. ...
previously connected Skelmersdale to
Ormskirk Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England, north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston. Ormskirk is known for its gingerbread. Geography and administr ...
and Rainford Junction. In 2009,
Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...
proposed to extend the existing quarter-hourly
Liverpool Central Liverpool Central railway station in Liverpool, England, forms a central hub of the Merseyrail network, being on both the Northern Line and the Wirral Line. The station is located underground on two levels, below the site of a former mainline ...
to Kirkby service, to terminate at a new station in the centre of Skelmersdale. Rainford will then become an interchange station for services to and from Wigan Wallgate. In 2009, the
Association of Train Operating Companies The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), previously the Association of Train Operating Companies, is the British rail industry membership body that brings together passenger and freight rail companies, Network Rail and High Speed 2. History From 24 Oc ...
published a report, Connecting Communities, which also recommended the opening of a new rail link to Skelmersdale. This time the recommendation was via the Skelmersdale Branch from Ormskirk. In February 2017, Lancashire County Council identified the site of the former Glenburn Sports College / Westbank Campus site as the preferred location for a railway station for the town. Despite the Glenburn Sports College being owned by the council, the Westbank Campus site is owned by Newcastle College and requires purchase by the council in order for the station to be built. In 2017, Merseytravel and Lancashire County Council committed £5 million into a study to investigate the possibility of re-opening the station. Combined with the creation of a new station at
Headbolt Lane Headbolt Lane is a new railway station in the Towerhill/Northwood area of Kirkby in Merseyside, North West England. The opening of a station in the area has been an objective of the local authority since 1972 and detailed plans have been under ...
in Kirkby, it is believed that the scheme could cost around £300 million to develop. In 2020,
Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 La ...
acquired the site of the former Glenburn Sports College, and approved £2 million to demolish the buildings on the site and prepare the area for the construction of a railway station. Plans for the reopening were dealt a blow when the Department for Transport announced in July 2022 that it was rejecting the Strategic Outline Business Case. The DfT instead suggested that better bus links with the Kirkby–Wigan rail line would be a cheaper way of improving connectivity for Skelmersdale.


Education and culture

Skelmersdale has a number of primary schools, and had two high schools:
Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Engineering College Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Engineering College is a coeducational Roman Catholic secondary school located in Skelmersdale in the English county of Lancashire. It is a voluntary aided school administered by Lancashire County Council and t ...
and Lathom High School.
Glenburn Sports College Glenburn Sports College was an 11–16 Mixed-sex education, mixed, Foundation school, foundation secondary school in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, England. It was established in 1967 and was part of the Glenburn Education Trust. It closed in 2016 due ...
closed on 31 August 2016 following an unsuccessful campaign backed by local MP
Rosie Cooper Rosemary Elizabeth Cooper (born 5 September 1950) is a British health official and former Labour Party politician who has served as the chair of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust since November 2022. Previously, she served as the Member of Parli ...
to prevent the closure.
West Lancashire College West Lancashire College (formerly Skelmersdale & Ormskirk College) is a further education college located over three sites in West Lancashire, England. The college is a part of a larger organisation called NCG. History Originally known as Skelm ...
has a campus in the centre of the town. The college merged with
Newcastle College Newcastle College is a large further education and higher education college in Newcastle upon Tyne, with more than 16,000 students enrolled each year on a variety of full time, part time, and distance learning. It is the largest further education ...
in 2007 and was graded as 'outstanding' in a recent
Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...
inspection. In 2021, Brian Cox launched the college's 'School of Science', a £1.3 million facility with the intention of increasing the number of students who study science, technology, engineering and mathematics. There is a
Transcendental Meditation movement The Transcendental Meditation movement (TM) are programs and organizations that promote the Transcendental Meditation technique founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India in the 1950s. The organization was estimated to have 900,000 participants ...
community within Skelmersdale, called "European Sidhaland". It has a Maharishi School which, as of 2019, performed 'well above average' according to
Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...
. In 2011, it was one of 24 schools that applied for and received government funding as a flagship free school. Skelmersdale is also home to a large public library with facilities including free internet access and an extensive local history section. The town is host to a number of cultural and social organisations, such as the Artz Centre which provides opportunities in creative fields, and The Birchwood Centre which aims to reduce social isolation and homelessness. The town featured in TV series ''
Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...
'' and features in the musical ''Blood Brothers''.


Social issues

According to urban planning consultancy Space Syntax, Skelmersdale's fragmented streets have made its centre relatively inaccessible and this has resulted in segregated land use. According to a 2017
Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 La ...
report, Skelmersdale has one of the highest percentages of children living in poverty in Lancashire at 27%, and the highest
accident and emergency An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the Acute (medicine), ...
attendance rate in Lancashire for 0–4 and 5–19 year olds. Furthermore, Skelmersdale's poverty levels are above the national average. However, Skelmersdale's crime rates are below the Lancashire average at 66 crimes per 1,000 people, and was the 10th safest medium-sized town in Lancashire in 2020. Skelmersdale was the worst medium-sized town in Lancashire in 2020 for drugs.


Economy

Although consisting predominantly of housing estates, Skelmersdale's industry includes the
Co-operative Bank Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organized on a cooperative basis. Cooperative banking institutions take deposits and lend money in most parts of the world. Cooperative banking, as discussed here, includes retail banking carr ...
which employs 650 people, distribution centres for
Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...
, P&G, Victorian Plumbing, a Walkers snack food factory, Chemist 4 U and many others. Skelmersdale houses the corporate base and a distribution centre for
Matalan Matalan is a British fashion and homeware retailer based in Knowsley, Merseyside. It was established by John Hargreaves in 1985, and is still owned by the Hargreaves family. , the company employed over 13,000, and had 230 stores in the United K ...
, the discount clothing and homewares store. Frederick's Dairies,now owned by R&R Ice Cream UK Ltd who make ice cream for
Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...
, and many others, are located in Skelmersdale.


Town centre

Skelmersdale's town centre is made up of the Concourse Shopping Centre, (colloquially known as "the Connie") as well as the
Asda Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of York ...
supermarket, a library, a swimming pool and gym named after former
Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...
Aneurin Bevan Aneurin "Nye" Bevan PC (; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party politician, noted for tenure as Minister of Health in Clement Attlee's government in which he spearheaded the creation of the British National Health ...
, another gym,
West Lancashire College West Lancashire College (formerly Skelmersdale & Ormskirk College) is a further education college located over three sites in West Lancashire, England. The college is a part of a larger organisation called NCG. History Originally known as Skelm ...
's main campus, a car garage and a new development including a
Lidl Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, whi ...
supermarket,
Poundstretcher Poundstretcher (previously styled as £-stretcher and also previously known as ...instore) is a chain of discount stores operating in the United Kingdom. It is based in Kirby Muxloe, England. History Poundstretcher was established in 1981 b ...
and a B&M store. The Concourse is home to a number of national chain stores such as Poundland, Home Bargains and Argos, as well as a McDonald's restaurant and KFC, both of which are located in the nearby car park. In early 2020, a Domino's Pizza chain was opened on the ground floor. The Concourse used to have an artwork by Alan Boyson, in the shape of a pyramid. The pyramid was located in front of the entrance opposite the ecumenical centre until the early to mid-1980s but was removed for safety reasons. There are also smaller shopping parades in Skelmersdale which include Sandy Lane Shopping Centre, Digmoor Parade and Ashurst Shopping Centre.


Politics

Skelmersdale is in the
West Lancashire West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town in the borough is Skelmersdale. At the 2011 Census, the population of the borough was 110,685 ...
parliamentary constituency, and has been represented by
Rosie Cooper Rosemary Elizabeth Cooper (born 5 September 1950) is a British health official and former Labour Party politician who has served as the chair of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust since November 2022. Previously, she served as the Member of Parli ...
, a Labour Party MP, since the
2005 United Kingdom general election The 2005 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 5 May 2005, to elect List of MPs elected in the 2005 United Kingdom general election, 646 members to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The Labour Party (U ...
. Furthermore, as of June 2021, Skelmersdale is represented by three Labour Party councillors across three wards on
Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 La ...
and fifteen of sixteen borough councillors for wards in Skelmersdale on West Lancashire Borough Council are members of the Labour Party, with one independent councillor. Until the
2021 United Kingdom local elections 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, Skelmersdale had only elected Labour Party councillors for over fifty years. Skelmersdale Independent Party, established in February 2019, is active in the town and advocates for the establishment of a Skelmersdale Town Council. While the party has contested multiple seats on West Lancashire Borough Council, it has been unsuccessful in gaining seats.


Sports

The town's football team, Skelmersdale United F.C., plays in the Premier Division of the
North West Counties Football League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern S ...
and was a
FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footbal ...
winner in 1971. One of its former players,
Steve Heighway Stephen Derek Heighway (born 25 November 1947) is an Irish former footballer who was part of the hugely successful Liverpool team of the 1970s. Following his eleven-year spell at the club, he has been regarded by some as one of the greatest Li ...
, went on to play for
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. Former Everton midfielder
Leon Osman Leon Osman (born 17 May 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent almost all of his career at Everton, making 433 appearances and scoring 57 goals. Earlier in his career he spent time on loan at Fo ...
, who takes his son to Dalton St Michael's Primary School in nearby Dalton, played for the club in his youth. Former Cardiff City player
Craig Noone Craig Stephen Noone (born 17 November 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for A-League club Macarthur FC. He has also played professional football for Plymouth Argyle, Exeter City, Brighton & Hove Albion, Cardif ...
also once played for the club. Skelmersdale Football Club is currently located at JMO Sports Park in the town. The town is host to an
archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...
club, the Bowmen of Skelmersdale, whose collective members hold 19 county records and 14 world records held by three members of the same family ( Melissa-Jane, Harriet and Gary Daniel), six of which were claimed at the National Flight Championships on 19 August 2006 held at RAF
Church Fenton Church Fenton or Kirk Fenton is a village and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England. It is about east of Leeds, about south-east from Tadcaster and north from Sherburn in Elmet. Neighbouring villages include Barkston ...
. Furthermore, Skelmersdale Cricket Club was established in 1891. The
Merseyside Nighthawks The Merseyside Nighthawks are an American football team representing the county of Merseyside and based in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, England, who operate in the BAFA National Leagues Premier Division North, the highest level of British America ...
, an
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
team who play at JMO Sports Park in the town, are members of the
BAFA National Leagues The BAFANL (BAFA National Leagues) are the primary American football domestic League competition in Great Britain. The League is run by the British American Football Association to coordinate contact football within England, Scotland and Wales. ...
and play in the Premier North Division.


Cadet forces

Skelmersdale has units of the
Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including C ...
,
Army Cadet Force The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a national youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence and the British Army. Along with the Sea Cadet Corps and the Air Training Corps, the ACF mak ...
and
Sea Cadet Corps Sea cadets are members of a sea cadet corps, a formal uniformed youth organisation for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or a naval s ...
. These units take part in the local community life and are routinely seen attending the
Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...
parade in the old town.


Air Training Corps

1439 (Skelmersdale) Squadron, Air Cadets, formed at Upholland Grammar School in 1941 as the 'Beacon Squadron' and provided airmanship training for young men and those about to join the RAF in time for the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
. The squadron continues to provide airmanship training to young men and women in addition to other activities. They are based on Daniels Lane.


Army Cadet Force

The Army Cadets are part of 'S' Company of the Lancashire Force. They are based on Daniels Lane.


Sea Cadets Corps

The
Sea Cadets Sea cadets are members of a sea cadet corps, a formal uniformed youth organisation for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or a naval s ...
has a unit in Skelmersdale that trains cadets aged from 10 to 17 years. The unit is located on Tawd Road.


Notable people

*
Leon Osman Leon Osman (born 17 May 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent almost all of his career at Everton, making 433 appearances and scoring 57 goals. Earlier in his career he spent time on loan at Fo ...
is a footballer who was born in
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
, but raised in Skelmersdale. He attended Up Holland High School and
Winstanley College Winstanley College is a sixth-form college in the Billinge Higher End area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester. Admissions In the academic year 2022-23 it had approx 2300 full-time students. The catchment area spreads across ...
. *
Matt Woods Maurice "Matt" Woods (1 November 1931 – 26 September 2014) was a professional footballer who played for Everton, Blackburn Rovers, Sydney Hakoah, Luton Town and Stockport County Stockport County Football Club are a professional footb ...
, a footballer, was born in Skelmersdale. He played for multiple clubs, but most notably Everton F.C. and
Blackburn Rovers F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. ...
* John Anderton, professional footballer born in Skelmersdale. * Thomas Aspinwall, trade unionist born in
Bickerstaffe Bickerstaffe is a village and civil parish in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. According to the 2001 Census the population of the civil parish was 1,196, reducing to 1,180 at the 2011 census, although the population of the ...
but lived in Skelmersdale * Stephen James Bennett, musician and writer * John Littlewood, chess player, born in Sheffield, resided in Skelmersdale. * Harry Swainston, footballer at the turn of the 20th century for
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...


Twin towns

West Lancashire is twinned with
Erkrath Erkrath () is a town in the district of Mettmann, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Erkrath is situated on the river Düssel, directly east of Düsseldorf and west of Wuppertal, close to the famous Neandertal. It has two stations, E ...
(Germany) and
Cergy-Pontoise Cergy-Pontoise () is a New town#France, new town and an Agglomeration communities in France, agglomeration community in France, in the Val-d'Oise and Yvelines departments of France, departments, northwest of Paris on the river Oise (river), Oise. I ...
(France).


See also

* Listed buildings in Skelmersdale *
West Lancashire West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town in the borough is Skelmersdale. At the 2011 Census, the population of the borough was 110,685 ...
*
Lancashire County Council Lancashire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Lancashire, England. It consists of 84 councillors. Since the 2017 election, the council has been under Conservative control. Prior to the 2009 La ...
*
West Lancashire College West Lancashire College (formerly Skelmersdale & Ormskirk College) is a further education college located over three sites in West Lancashire, England. The college is a part of a larger organisation called NCG. History Originally known as Skelm ...
* Lathom High School


References


Further reading

* Wilson, L. Hugh (1964) ''Skelmersdale new town planning proposals: report on basic plan'' prepared for the Skelmersdale Development Corporation by L. Hugh Wilson, Hugh Wilson & Lewis Womersley Chartered Architects & Town Planners, with a foreword by A. J. Kentish Barnes, Chairman of the Skelmersdale Development Corporation, Skelmersdale Development Corporation; * Riley, Frank (1986) ''People in Need of a Future: A Survey of the Long-term Unemployed in Skelmersdale'' Ecumenical Centre, Northway, Skelmersdale; * Howe, Don and Frank Riley (1982) ''Skem – The Broken Promise: Unemployment in Skelmersdale New Town'' Liverpool Industrial Ecumenical Mission;


External links


Skelmersdale Heritage Society website
– Evidence presented to the Transport Select Committee, 2002–03
Skem NewsOrmskirk & Skelmersdale AdvertiserChampion Newspapers
{{authority control Towns in Lancashire New towns in England New towns started in the 1960s Unparished areas in Lancashire Geography of the Borough of West Lancashire